Question: I've heard that drinking black tea each day is one of the best things you can do to maintain a healthy heart. Can drinking a certain tea really make that big a difference, and if so, why?


Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Recent evidence supports green tea as possibly beneficial to your health. This has not yet been adequately studied and tested enough to become a health recommendation.

Whether black tea also has redeeming features is not yet established. Recent studies suggest that green tea, specifically, may be more protective than black tea. I would suggest you not be in a big rush to drink either every day unless you enjoy the beverage. The health benefits of either will probably be seen as marginal at best when submitted to rigorous double-blind testing.

Whether the claimed benefits are related to the flavonoids, caffeine, or other components in various teas, or whether the benefits are a reflection of increased fluid intake and its beneficial effects, is not yet clear.

Review of the various reports does suggest that the type of tea consumed does make a difference, with the preponderance of data supporting green tea.

It appears that black tea has some cardiac benefits, unlike coffee. Caffeine is not likely the beneficial agent here, so do not assume it provides any health benefits. Be aware that caffeine is a stimulant and a diuretic, and will have an effect on some combination of medicines often prescribed for cardiac care.

Be sure to enlighten your doctor of your dietary changes, particularly if you take diuretics (commonly referred to as water pills), blood thinning medications (such as Coumadin), or if you take antidepressant, psychiatric, or sleep medications.

Active research in the beneficial effects of flavonoids continues to be a hot topic in cardiovascular medicine today, and may have implications in the development of new medications for heart and general vascular health over the next 10 years. It appears the flavonoid content of red wine also provides cardio protection to those who regularly consume moderate amounts of red wine. This is an exciting area of research with many claims but no established recommendations for conventional cardiac care yet.